Program description
The forensic fellowship program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was established and accredited in 2003. The program is housed in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas within blocks of the state's forensic hospital. The forensic inpatient service at the Arkansas State Hospital is an 80-bed, four-unit complex. It houses the entire inpatient forensic population of the state and serves as the primary base for the program. Fellows will also rotate at the Arkansas Department of Correction and the UAMS Department of Psychiatry Adult Outpatient Clinic.

The program faculty includes four Board certified forensic psychiatrists, one Board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and one psychiatrist Board eligible in forensic psychiatry and child & adolescent psychiatry; as well as additional adult psychiatrists who are available to provide instruction and supervision when appropriate. An attorney with expertise in mental health law and several forensic psychologists and licensed social workers are also members of the teaching staff.

Fellows conduct forensic evaluations of both inpatients and outpatients concerning a wide variety of civil and criminal legal issues, including competency, criminal responsibility, suitability for conditional release, civil commitments, risk assessment, psychiatric disability, compensability under the state worker�s compensation laws, guardianship, and parental fitness. Fellows also work on the adolescent unit under the supervision of a child and adolescent psychiatrist where they perform above mentioned evaluations and gain experience with a state of the art sexual offenders unit. Fellows will also spend up to four hours per week responding to consults requested by general practitioners related to the legal regulation of psychiatric practice.

Didactics and seminars are provided to ensure that fellows are familiar with all aspects of forensic psychiatry and are prepared for the practice of forensic psychiatry. Fellows will also be required to complete a scholarly project under the supervision of a forensic faculty member. Fellows are required to acquire an Arkansas Medical License prior to beginning the fellowship.

Fringe benefits include travel support to the annual AAPL meeting and forensic review course.